I honestly like folders better. It's one of the few good things from windows.
Files are in folders. That makes so much sense.
this post was submitted on 20 Jun 2026
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Not any more. I had a student not that long ago ask about the metaphor, ended up having to explain to the whole class what physical files and folders were.
I don't wanna be that guy but are these kids becoming really dumb? When I was a kid or teen I still knew about things that were in at least 2 3 decades before me, I even knew how to use them. I don't know how to explain it but I feel like the new generation are so disconnected from the real world and live in a bubble, their domain and depth of knowledge is really bad.
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Jokes on them, Iβve been a windows guy so long they have always been directories; I started in the dos days.
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Most file managers on Linux, like GNOME or KDE have the option "New Folder". It's fine to use them interchangeably, y'all.
imo, directory refers to the filesystem concept, folder refers to the UI concept
Yeah, but if the UI refers to the same file system's directories also as folders, why do people get so bent out of shape when you call them either?
Everyone's gotta have a hobby.
In KDE, when right-click menu gives you an option for a new "folder". I will call it a folder.
The Xfce file manager, Thunar (4.18 with en-US as language), also has "Create Folder..." under the File menu, and in some contexts in the right-click menu.
Under Preferences, Behavior, it has both "directory" and "folders".
man ls uses "directory" only tho.
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linux users when they walk into a room:
ls
windows users when they walk into a room
DIR
cd
ls
ls
What was I doing again?
ls
lsd
You start tripping out
I guess most Windows users don't know what DIR is or even where to use it.
"Do you use DIR?"
User: "Do I use what? And don't call me dear."
Opening a folder in Explorer automatically shows the contents, saving the need for an extra step.
Here is a container of DIR.
Which is called a pen! Hmmm.
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wait, windows uses folder?
i've been saying directory since DOS. CD means Change Directory.
Also dir to list director contents
Dont windows also have a rmdir
I dont know if there are any commands with folder ? Maybe it was a marketing stunt somewhere along the way
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I say 'drawer' π
I feel this deep. Coming around full circle over the past 30-odd years.
Cutting my teeth mucking around and learning DOS 5 with friends on my families first PC, they were directories. Migrating to a support career where everything is stored in folders and now coming out the other side abandoning windows altogether and I'm back to calling everything directories again!
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I use either term. "Directory" is a weird term honestly. I accept it and use it often, but folder finds does make more sense honestly.
Yes, a directory is a list of items. Like a telephone directory. A folder is a container of items.
In 2009 I added Folder to the Wikipedia page Directory (computing) Explaining the Folder Metaphor in both English and German (Verzeichnis/Ordner). My clarification has been tweaked and altered slightly to bring it into line with Wikipedia standards, but it has stood the test of time.
I always use the term folder in Linux circles when referring to a container of things. It's useful to stress the importance of the user interface, which is often misunderstood by many there. Be proud!
Firstly, thank you for your contributions to Wikipedia. And yeah those are the two ways I've thought of those terms. What's weird to me is that saying "directory" to refer to the containing object does sound like you're referring to just the listing itself, as you said, which is ever-changing metadata and to my knowledge that is not stored in/on the folder itself, it would be in the ...whatever equivalent of file allocation tables are now. But, since so many people say directory I've learned to use it interchangeably with folder. Directory feels more technical and somehow more closely attached to the concept of a path. I dunno, words are weird!
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Folder is better. On disk, a folder is a list of pairs of a name and number, mapping the items in the folder to their location on the disk i.e. it's a directory. The days before computerization are before my time, but, as I understand it, library index cards worked this way. You might have a card for each author which listed the books by that author with the location of the index card on that book, and you might have directory cards on subjects or keywords too, and the card on a book might point to the location of the book on the shelf and the card for the author, etc., or something like that. It would be most confusing to call these directory cards "folders". The computer does the same thing internally, but the user interface has hidden away any notion of directory. They're logically folders. It's only a directory if you're writing a file system implementation.
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Directory is four syllables. Folder is two. Shorter wins.
When you call it the windows key
I bought tux stickers to stick them onto the windows icon of my keyboard. However it is a lighted one. So you had tux on top and in a red light the windows icon shined through. It was even more cursed that way.
What? You expect me to use "Super" out there in the wild and not look crazy?
Microsoft is the one that forced manufacturers to add it, or they couldn't advertise their keyboard as being "Designed for Windows 95", as it is required for the shortcuts (e.g win + d shows the desktop). The "Menu" key was added at the same time so that the Win 95 UI could be navigated without a mouse.
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As an old person who started on MS-DOS, I've always said "directory", and "program". I had trouble switching to "folder" and then more recently "app". I'm happy to have switched to Linux a couple of years ago so I can just say directory again. The word app, short for application, came from Apple, with the iPhone. No doubt they also liked that is the first three letters of Apple, too. It was specifically for the little programs that ran on iPhone, not meant to replace "program" across the board. But, here we are. Also, "web app" was used to refer to those websites or pages that worked like apps on iPhones, before apps became commonplace. Now, everything from Notes to Photoshop is an "app".
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Used to be like this but now I disagree. I intentionally use fake jeers instead of Linux directories or gitlab groups.
Folders are distinct and meaningful, while directories and groups have multiple meanings not clear without context.
I pronounce "folder" the same way I pronounce "solder", cuz I'm just badass that way.
Wait, how else do you pronounce it?
I'm an American, let me help. It's pronounced saw-dur.
Americans say solder as sorder for some reason.
I have also heard it as Sodder, especially when they say 'soddering iron'. Makes my eye twitch
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If I'm dealing with text, it's a directory. If I'm clicking around, it's a folder.
"Task Manager, my beloved"
"I'm System Monitor now" (Arch+KDE)
"Apologies. System Monitor, my beloved"
Also, the bottom bar with icons and stuff is called "Task Manager" on KDE, which is mildly confusing
In spanish wy kind of use both interchangeably... carpeta, directorio.
Me, earlier today, referring to Niri as a desktop instead of a "window manager," which is also wrong as it's a Wayland compositor.
Too late, you're gonna get corrected by 4 people
I've only seriously been on linux for about 6 months. It's been longer but as far as actually doing the low level linux user stuff in the terminal? - 6 months. Saying 'directory' just sort of happens once you start tinkering in any meaningful way.
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